Mid range road bikes

[Owlie]

Hi! I'm new to this site, and just love it that it's geared (no pun intended) for women! This being said, I am going to be in the market for a new road bike in a couple of months (I'm recovering from ankle reconstruction surgery). I am liking the Specialized Ruby Elite, but I noticed in the specs (2014 model), that the pedals that come standard with this model is a plastic platform.--when did this happen? In the past, mid range road bikes came with toe clips. I thought perhaps most cyclists switch out the pedals to clipless. Does anyone know why--or is my guess correct?

What Blueberry said. Most manufacturers don't even include pedals once the components go past entry level. I think they assume clipless at that point, and they'd rather put the money somewhere else because pedals are probably going to get switched out. Most shops, though, will have plastic platforms on the floor model to make getting it out the door for a test ride easier.

Good luck with the continued recovery!

[CAS]

Thank you, Owlie and Blueberry, I suspected this--but just wasn't certain. My last bike I purchased was in June 2009, but this was a flat bar road bike. It did come w/toe clips--but I ended up switching them out with clipless at the time of purchase.